Council Program Launch
Scouters and Scouts are invited to attend the council's annual program launch. There will be lots of table manned by folks with flyers and other good information, including a table for our Three Rivers District. The most important handout will be copies of the council event calendar for 2015-16.

Scouts Needed to Assist at a Bike RodeoThis note was broadcast by Three Rivers District Exec Oliris Ramos on May 12:

Looking for a few good Scouts with knowledge in bike safety, interested in earning their Cycling merit badge or in need of service hours.

We will be setting up a table with BSA information at the "Stride & Ride a Bike Rodeo" event and would like to have 15 Boy Scouts present to assist the participants in learning to ride, bike safety, bike maintenance, and etc. Please let me know as soon as possible if you would be available to help me with this, all I need is the name(s) of the boys that will be available. Scout should be in their Class B uniforms.

June 6, 2015, 9 am - 3pm
Braddock Park, 8th Street, North Bergen.
A T-shirt, lunch, and water will be provided.

Scouts and Adults Needed to Staff the Family Camping Weekend (Jun 13-14)

Scouts and Adults Needed to Staff the Family Camping WeekendThis note was broadcast by District Program Chair Mark Wrightington on May 5

Good morning everyone.

As many of you know, the NNJC has added two Cub Scout Family Camp Weekends to the calendar this year. The second of which the Three Rivers District has been tasked with staffing. The dates of the camp weekend are June 13th and 14th. For more info, you can click on the following link: http://www.nnjbsa.org/event/1621773.

Since the event is fast approaching, just over a month away, I'd like to firm up the staff and I am reaching out to all of you to see who can lend a hand. All activities will take place on Saturday, so if you are only available for the day that's fine. The below is a list of the stations/areas that we will need cover.

If you would get back to me by Thursday, it would be great so that I can report our progress at the district committee meeting.

Rules:
• Open to all Tigers, Wolves, Bears, and Webelos of the Three Rivers District
• Cubs must be accompanied by a guardian of 21 years or older
• Catch and release program – return your fish to the water alive
• No swimming or wading in the reservoir
• No open fires or grills
• Please bring all your garbage to the closing ceremony where garbage bags will be available
• Scout insurance covers all Cubs and all potential Cub Scouts.
• Adults do not need a license to fish on June 20 (Free Fishing Day)

Awards will be given out to those registered cubs that catch the biggest fish by weight
There are FOUR fish categories for each rank of Tigers, Wolves, Bears and Webelos:
• Sunfish
• Perch
• Bass
• Other (all other types of fish)
A fishing gear set will be awarded to the Cub with the overall biggest fish by weight.

In the event of a rainout, the new date will be posted on the Three Rivers District website.

The District Commissioner's Contact ListIt is very important for the Three Rivers Commissioner staff to have the latest and best set of contact information for all the troops, packs, and crews they support. Thus District Commissioner Barry Goldman recently made this request:

Now that the Scouting year is coming to a close, many leaders move on. If you are leaving, please let me know so I will stop sending e-mails to you (unless you enjoy reading them). Also, please give me the contact information for your replacement so I can update my list.

In addition, if you or any leader is stepping down but wishes to stay involved, us folks at the district are always looking for good, knowledgeable people to help work at events and with other jobs. Please contact me if you or someone from your Pack or Troop would like to help out.

Camp Director Alex Canale announced that Turrell would stop using the Doubleknot signup system in favor of a new website specifically created and tailored to the camp's 2015 offerings. The new system promises to make the signup process easier for Scouts and Scoutmasters, including altering existing selections. The system also promises to make it easier for Scoutmasters and camp staff to obtain useful output reports.

All information is exposed, so that any Scout can see what his buddies have signed up for. However, password protection will prevent one Scout from pranking another by altering the other's selections. Scoutmasters have an override password in case they want to impose a change, such as preventing an 11-year old from taking Shotgun Shooting.

Camp Turrell Merit Badge Update - Astronomy

Camp Turrell Merit Badge Update – Astronomy

Scouts must first complete ALL requirements at home in order to earn the Astronomy merit badge at camp. The counselor at camp will then review the requirements and sign off for a completion (this is also how the Three Rivers Merit Badge Fair works).

The merit badge has 9 requirements that the Scout must complete in advance. Confusingly, the camp Leader's Guide prerequisite section tells the Scout to prepare just 5, 6, and 9 (see pages 43 and 44), but in fact all 9 must be done in advance for a completion.

Camp Turrell Merit Badge Update - Cooking

Camp Turrell Merit Badge Update – Cooking

The Cooking merit badge will NOT be offered at Camp Turrell this year. In its place, Scouts may sign up to attend a daily "Cooking Expo" session that will demonstrate some cool cooking technique and then serve the results for lunch. Possibilities floated are making your own cheese, using a tinfoil oven, using a solar oven, and using a Dutch oven for lasagna or a giant cinnamon bun.

Camp Director Alex Canale explained the change by saying, "The requirements say you need to do the badge with your family and with your Scoutmaster and with your patrol. Five strangers that you meet at camp are not any of those things." Exception: If a Scout comes to camp with a "partial" from last summer, the staff will help him work toward a completion.

Camp Turrell Merit Badge Update - 9 New Badges this Summer

Camp Turrell Merit Badge Update – 9 New Badges this Summer

This summer, Scouts have 9 new merit badge options, two of which are eagle-required. The two are Communication and Citizenship in the Nation. The others are Search-and-Rescue, Engineering, Textile, Digital Technology, Public Speaking, Game Design, and Mining in Society. Turrell camp Ranger Bruce Bobrowski will be a guest presenter for Engineering, while Mining will include a field trip to an abandoned mine located on Turrell property. Search-and-Rescue includes a classroom component that requires Scouts to sit through a US Government-prepared video. The new badges are scattered throughout each day’s time slots, so, if a Scout desired, he could sign up for just new badges.

A New Look for the Council's Website

A New Look for the Council's Website

The Northern NJ Council's home page now has a much simpler and cleaner look-and-feel. Links to other pages currently deemed most newsworthy appear as large billboard images that can be clicked as they slowly scroll past. A limited number of other links, typically no more than 12, appear as text descriptions, some for events, and others for resources. There are also a few smaller image-style links, such as one that invokes the summer camp "flip book." All other navigation will be done from the top menu bar and its dropdowns. When all else fails, there is an icon for launching a search.

Plans Announced for USS New Jersey Attack Submarine

Plans Announced for USS New Jersey Attack Submarine

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Senator Robert Menendez appeared at Liberty State Park on May 24 to announce plans for the USS New Jersey attack submarine, scheduled for launch in 2021.

Spieser wrote, "New Jersey has a long history in the creation of the modern day submarine," Menendez said to a crowd of Navy sailors, referencing John Philip Holland, the Irish engineer who designed and built the first submarines in Elizabeth, New Jersey. "I felt that as we are creating a new class of submarines it was time New Jersey got recognition."

Holland founded the Electric Boat Company in Elizabeth, which later became General Dynamics, a major defense contractor. One of Holland's early submarines is in the museum in Paterson, NJ, where he was once a schoolteacher. He died in Newark and is buried in Totowa.